Gaels come up short against Wildcats

Unlike last week's game with Tyngsboro, the Clinton High School football team's offense was able to move the ball during Friday night's Division 5 clash at Gardner.

The result was a pair of touchdowns, including a 7-yard scoring pass by junior quarterback Andrew Grady in his return to the gridiron after missing two games with a shoulder injury.

However, though it did come up with a couple of stops, the Gaels' defense struggled against the oversized Gardner offense, and Clinton was also hurt by six turnovers.

The result was a 38-12 Wildcat victory, which dropped the Gaels to 0-6 on the season. Gardner improved to 3-3.

“We knew Gardner was going to be bigger and more physical than we were, but the kids battled and we competed hard,” Clinton coach Paul Constantino said. “We played with enthusiasm, and we played with excitement.”

Clinton's first touchdown came midway through the second quarter, with the Wildcats leading, 14-0.

Gael senior Jeremy Casiano recovered a Gardner fumble and ran it 26 yards to the Wildcat 7-yard line. Three plays later, junior halfback Daryl Jent swept right from 3 yards out and dove into the end zone to put Clinton on the board.

The 2-point conversion attempt failed, but the Gaels had narrowed the gap to 14-6.

Gardner, which owned a 21-6 advantage at the half, drove to the Clinton 27 on its first possession of the third quarter, before Gael junior Ben Winchester sacked Wildcat quarterback Matthew Seward for a 4-yard loss.

Two plays later, Clinton junior Brian Sleeper deflected a Seward pass, and the Gaels had forced the Wildcats to turn the ball over on downs.

After Gardner boosted its lead to 29-6 late in the third quarter, Clinton took over the ball on its own 21 and mounted a 79-yard scoring drive.

Casiano had two first-down rushes during the march, while sophomore fullback Tom Russell and Jent each had one.

“Jeremy (Casiano) had some nice runs, and we had some nice blocking, too,” Constantino said. “I thought the offensive line did a pretty good job, all in all.”

Grady capped the drive when he passed the ball 7 yards to senior end Jake Hatch in the left side of the end zone, with 7:32 left in the game.

Seward intercepted the 2-point conversion pass attempt and ran it the length of the field, giving the Wildcats a 31-12 lead.

After Gardner added a score on its next possession to claim a 38-12 advantage with just under three minutes to go, both teams sent their substitutes onto the field.

“We just couldn't stop them defensively,” Constantino said. “They were bigger and stronger than we were. They didn't punt at all.”

On the plus side, several younger players gained experience on defense throughout the game, which should hopefully pay dividends down the road.

“A lot of young kids played tonight,” Constantino said. Jose Nieves got in a lot at D-end (defensive end) as a freshman, and Tommy Russell is now playing both ways as a sophomore.

“Garrett Woods played a lot tonight, defensively,” he said. “He's a sophomore. Jason Baldarelli is a sophomore. Josh Duhamel, a junior, got a pretty good amount of defensive time.

“A lot of young kids were playing in that front five tonight against a big, physical team,” Constantino continued. “I thought the young kids acquitted themselves fairly well.